High School Sports: Winter All-Mets
Jon DeNunzio
Washington Post High School Sports Editor
Wednesday, April 07, 2004; 4:00 p.m ET
The Washington Post Winter All-Met section honors the top high school athletes in various sports such as basketball, indoor track and field, swimming and diving, wrestling and volleyball.
Washington Post High School Sports Editor Jon DeNunzio will be online Wednesday, April 7 at 4 p.m. ET to discuss The Post's Winter All-Met section and take questions and comments on high school sports. He will discuss how the selection process works, what kind of athletes generally make All-Met and how the athletes are honored.
Submit your questions and comments before or during the discussion.
Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control
over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Jon DeNunzio: Hi folks ... hope you had a chance to see the All-Met section in today's paper, where we honored the area's top high school athletes in basketball, hockey, wrestling, swimming and diving and indoor track and field. If you have any questions or comments about that, or want to talk about any other issues in high school sports, please ask.
I'll start out by saying that this winter's teams were pretty topugh to pick. There are so many good athletes at the 250-plus schools we cover, so it's always hard to narrow down the lists. Trust me when I say many great athletes wind up on second team or honorable mention ... including, a couple autumns back, a skinny freshman at The Heights School in Potomac named--Freddy Adu.
Ok, let's go!
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Chantilly, Va.:
Hi Jon,
Regarding the boy's basketball selections...
One of the interesting things I find about the selections from year to year is how some players stock can rise signifcantly between junior and senior years.
For example, Dwayne Anderson was not listed on any of the All-Met teams last year, not even honorable mention, yet this year he skyrockets to the first team. Did he just have a monster senior season? washingtonpost.com:
Winter All-Met: Basketball (Post, April 7)
Jon DeNunzio: Indeed, that does happen -- we're talking about teenagers, who grow and change in so many ways in a matter of months. (or so I hear ... ).
Dwayne did have a big senior year -- he was arguably the best player in the WCAC, which year in and year out produces top teams and players on a national scale.
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Manassas, Va.:
Hi,
I am confused as to why the All Met POY is a kid from Baltimore? They have their own major newspaper and he is the Co-POY for the city he lives and plays in (Baltimore). Why must he also be the POY for our city/area?
I think that this incident highlights the random "boundaries" the Post has somehow developed in their HS sports coverage area.
They just don't seem to make sense to those of us who are outside of the Post staff..namely the readership.
Only that could explain why the other Baltimore Co-POY Will Thomas wasn't included at all in these selections???
His school is only miles from the other kids school. Which means either you should include both or do the right thing and only cover DC and only a little of suburban MD.
That would result in choosing Folarin Campbell for POY. His stats are better and he is the only 2 time selection to the first team.
Anyway, my two sense for what it is worth.
-Jim
Jon DeNunzio: This is a question I expected. Our boundaries are hardly "random," and Spalding falls within them, no question.
Here's the deal -- we have subscribers and sell a decent amount of papers in Anne Arundel County. So any athletes at high schools located in that county are eligible for All-Met. Even if their schools play in leagues that include teams from outside our coverage area.
Other counties/cities we cover include (not sure I can do the whole list off the top of my head): D.C., Fairfax, Montgomery, Prince George's, Howard, Calvery, Charles, St. Mary'sm, Frederick, Loudoun, Prince William, Fauquier, Stafford, Spotsylvania and Fredericksburg.
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Virginia:
There was a non-NCAA group (Drake something) that want to reform the NCAA basketball torunament by teams with the highest graduation rates to the lowest. Can you rank all-academic All-Met?
Jon DeNunzio: That would be interesting, wouldn't it? While we have no mechanism to do this--and getting the info would be hard--I will say that I am always happy to be able to highlight the academic succeses among our top athletes. check out the "Spotlight" feature each week.
And, it should be added, that numerous studies show that kids who play sports get better grades than those who don't. We should be careful about linking athletic succes with academic failure ...
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Bethesda, Md.:
James Gist third team? Are you kiddin' me? Shouldn't he be much higher than that? washingtonpost.com:
Winter All-Met: Basketball (Post, April 7)
Jon DeNunzio: There isn't much "much higher" than third team. Second and first, I guess.
If you are third-team All-Met, you are one of the top 20 basketball players in the area, in our estimation. If we cover 250 schools, there are about 3,000 kids playing high school ball in the area. The top 20 is the top .0066667 percent,if my math serves me.
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Washington, D.C.:
Are there any potential Olympians (not necessarily for Athens) among the swimmers and runners?
washingtonpost.com:
Winter All-Met: Boys' Indoor Track and Field (Post, April 7)
Winter All-Met: Girls' Indoor Track and Field (Post, April 7)
Winter All-Met: Girls' Swimming (Post, April 7)
Winter All-Met: Boys' Swimming (Post, April 7)
Jon DeNunzio: The two that occur to me are girls' swimmers: Kassy Kugler of Sherwood and Kate Ziegler of O'Connell. Both are invited to the US Olympic trials. There amy be more ...
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Washington, D.C.:
What is your assessment of the two future Georgetown Hoyas you honored -- Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert? Will they be impact freshmen in the Big East, or will it take them time to develop? How good do you expect Rudy Gay to be in ACC play?
Jon DeNunzio: Last question first -- Rudy is going to U-Conn., so he won't play too much ACC basketball.
Of the future Hoyas, here's what I can tell you--admitting that I've never been a guy who can see a player and project his potential success at the next level--Jeff Green is BIG. When he walked into the All-Met photo shoot, everyone noticed. And he played GREAT down the stretch for Northwestern (which won the Maryland 4A title), which is a good sign.
Hibbert I have never seen play (editors do most of their work at their desks ... ). We wrote about him as a highly-recruited eighth-grader (recruited by private high schools!), so the spotlight is nothing new to him. We'll see ...
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Upper Marlboro, Md.:
Hey Jon, how will the all-met athletes of the year be honored?
Jon DeNunzio: Um, they get their picture in the paper. See Section H.
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Jon DeNunzio: We also invite the first-team All-Mets to a luncheon to honor them at the end of the school year.
No cash prizes. Yet.
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Reston, Va.:
Which of the all-met boys basketball seniors do you think will have the biggest impact as freshman at the college level?
Thanks!
Jon DeNunzio: A previous question, this one, and others submitted all talk about potential at the next level. It might be a good time to say that that is just part of our consideration in the All-Met selection process. The awards are, to a large part, about what the players do in this one season on the high school playing field/court/rink/mat/etc.
You can be a supposedly great college prospect, but if you don't achieve at a high level for your high school team, it's tough to make All-Met.
Answering your question directly ... again, I'm no good at projecting. I thought Kordell Stewart was gonna be a great pro quarterback ...
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Rockville, Md.:
James Gist is a top 50 recruit, yet you ranked him third team, what gives? Also, what do you think of James Gist's game and how do you see him fitting in to the ACC next year?
Jon DeNunzio: James has soem fans out there today, and he deserves 'em. Very good player.
I think I answered this above. No shame in being third team. I would bet The Post reporters who see him play know as much about his game as some of the guys who make those national lists ... do they really see these guys play high school ball?
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Fairfax, Va:
Hi Jon,
When you select a player of the year, is it someone who had the best year or is it the athlete with the most potential? It seemed to me that Folarin Campbell had the best year for boys basketball, but the selection went to Rudy Gay who seems to have more potential to succeed at the higher levels.
Jon DeNunzio: As I said above, performance on the court is a buig part of it, with talent mixing in.
Not sure you can make a case that either player had a significant statistical advantage over the other, so I'm not sure I'd say "Campbell had the best year."
Folarin Campbell: 28.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.5 apg, 3.5 spg. team went 24-4.
Rudy Gay: 21.2 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 3.6 bpg, 2.1 apg. Team went 29-8.
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Virginia:
Chris Vann should be first team all met.
He is a senior and he has averaged 23.8
on a good team. Jason Flager should be
a first team all met player. washingtonpost.com:
Winter All-Met: Basketball (Post, April 7)
Jon DeNunzio: Chris made third team. Jason made first team.
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Bethesda, Md:
Wrestling question:
How does Whitman freshman Eren Civan not make 1st Team All Met for wrestling after going undefeated and leading Whitman to it's first state title?? Clearly, the fact that he was a freshman prevented him from getting 1st Team.
But a student's grade level should NOT be a factor. washingtonpost.com:
Winter All-Met: Wrestling (Post, April 7)
Jon DeNunzio: Hmmm .. I don't think that's it. Worth explaining here: this year, we reduiced the number of first-team wrestlers to 16 -- one per weight class plus a wrestler of the year and a "wild card." Last year we had 25.
We did this to make the honor more meaningful. I think it worked. But it also meant that at classes like 130, we had a guy like Civan and a guy like William Powars (undefeated against area competition, one loss overall, state title in Virginia). It was a tough choice between the two. They didn't wrestle each other. Powars edged Covan out ... barely.
Grade is not really a factor. And in wrestling, "leading your team to a state title" isn't, either. Ity's one of those individual sports in which they add on "team scores," but one wrestler doesn't have the influence on his team's fortunes that a quarterback on a football team has ...
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Sterling, Va.:
I know you answered the question on Rudy Gay...but if you say your coverage area stops around Spalding and Anne Arundel than why list a team an all-MIAA-A team (which Gay is part of). If you going to list his district team, then wouldn't it make sense to make all those players eligible for all-Met, or none of them?
Jon DeNunzio: The all-district teams are, for the most part, chosen by the coaches in those leagues. We listed all-district teams for the leagues that have D.C. area teams involved. Doesn;t have much to do with the All-Met picks. I don't see the contradiction.
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Merrifield, Va.:
Hello:
I think it's time for you to let coaches for each sport vote on the rankings and select the all-met teams. Speaking only in terms of basketball, I don't think players should be selected based largely on their points per game averages. This gives unfair advantages to players who play in leagues with a more uptempo style of play or who don't have as much talent on their team and therefore have to carry more of the scoring load.
As for the rankings, perhaps some attention should be paid to the USA Today national rankings. Teams that are nationally ranked should not have a bunch of nationally unranked teams ahead of them in their own local poll. Teams are ranked nationally based on their record, their talent, and their strength of schedule. The local teams should be ranked the same way.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope you have time to reply.
Jon DeNunzio: 1) Do you think the coaches see more basketball than our staff? We talk to coaches for rankings and All-Mets, and there are many who say "I can only comment on the teams I played against."
2) I don't think we put too much emphasis on stats.
3) Re: rankings, why do people ask local papers why their rankings don't match up with the national rankings. I think you should ask the national rankers why they don't pay more attention to the local papers who see the teams day in, day out ... I'll put our rankings up against any of the national services ...
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Washington, D.C.:
When was the last time that DeMatha did not have an All-Met player? First or second team ? Has the tide turned for the program?
Jon DeNunzio: Hmmm ... that would take more research than I have time for. I will say that DeMatha is said to have some very good young talent. You may see All-Mets from the Stags again very soon ...
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Alexandria, Va.:
You dedicated 3 full pages to basketball (all-met selections and all-league) and only 1 page each to the other sports. You list all-league selections and the final rankings for basketball only. Why not give equal coverage to all sports?
Jon DeNunzio: Guilty as charged. We cover football and basketball more extensively than other sports. In most cases, if you look at the crowds those sports draw and the interest we get from readers, you'll see they are more popular. So we try to give the readers and fans what they seem to want.
That said, I'll stick by our record of covering other sports. Go to some other large metro markets and see how the big dailies cover other sports or high school sports in general. We are lucky that The Post brass sees high school sports coverage as an important part of sevring the community (Myself included among the lucky ones--this belief funds my job).
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Washington, DC:
Why is the Post always biased toward high school athletes in Virginia and Maryland? No DC swimmers or hockey players, and hardly any hoops or track athletes. Are the athletes in DC schools not good enough, or is it the continued Post bias that always rankes teams from VA and MD No. 1 and never a school like Dunbar in football or Spingarn in hoops. Give DC some props, Mr. DeNunzio.
PS - Tell Judith Evans to keep up the good work.
Jon DeNunzio: I don't think we're biased. Based on number of schools alone, D.C. is at a disadvantage--there are simply more schools in VA/MD. Look at the the graphic on the front page of the All-Met section -- 10 D.C. athletes made the teams; 14 Fairfax Co. athletes made it. Fairfax has a lot more people, I think ...
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Fairfax, Va.:
Does your paper cover the Baltimore leagues as well? Whats the effect on your paper when Rudy Gay wins B'more Co-Player of the year with Will Thomas? Can you name one of them the All Met POY without the other? If you do, is that fair and legit? washingtonpost.com:
Boys' Basketball: Player of the Year (Post, March 25)
Jon DeNunzio: Will Thomas goes to Mount St. Joe, which is in Baltimore county or Baltimore City (not sure which). We don't cover either of those jurisdictions.
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Annandale, Va.:
What's with O'connell mens basketball not getting practically any honors? The entire team was amazing and a few of the seniors really stood out. What happend??? washingtonpost.com:
Winter All-Met: Basketball (Post, April 7)
Jon DeNunzio: They have a men's basketball team at O'Connell? I thought it was a boys' program!
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Anonymous:
The Full Weight: Why didn't Folarin Campbell recieve POY? He was repeat All-Met just like the lady POY. Is there a reason why he did not win POY?
Jon DeNunzio: Simply making the team two years in a row doesn't mean you are the best player THIS year.
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Alexandria, Va.:
You selected over 70 All Mets (all teams) for women's basketball but less than 40 for women's swimming--yet there are probably more athletes participating in high school swimming in the area than basketball. Why? washingtonpost.com:
Winter All-Met: Girls' Swimming (Post, April 7)
Jon DeNunzio: Oooh ... tough question. We have been selecting about the same number of athletes for each of the sports for some time now. Maybe we started this hoops-swimming proportionality because of the high interest in basketball. It would be interesting to know if the 50th-best girls basketball player is of roughly the same talent level as the 50th-best girls' swimmer. Perhaps the numbers are something we should think about ...
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Washington, D.C.:
I know this isn't the forum for this question, but its tangentially related, and its not too often you get to ask somewhat about local high school sport:
When I was growing up (in the not too distant past) the Capital Classic High School All Star game featured a team of local stars (plus a few ringers with local ties, i.e. committed to G'Town) versus national stars. This added a certain degree of gamesmanship and pride to the game that I believe is lacking in most of these all star affairs. In addition, it gave many more young players the opportunity to showcase their talents against some big names. If I recall correctly, the DC MEtro team more than held its own over the years. Why the change, and is there any way this could be undone? It just seemed like such a cool event, unique to DC. Now the game is just like all these other over-hyped dog and pony shows. Any comment?
Jon DeNunzio: I agree. they changed the format a few years ago, I think so they could get more national talent in the game and solidify it as one of the "big" all-star games, like the McDonald's game.
Here's the bottom line -- tradition doesn't matter in sports much anymore, especially if there's a buck to be made. Remember when you had to win your division to make the baseball playoffs or when they called one of the NHL divisions the "Norris"? Those of us who liked the old traditions have few left to hold on to ...
If the game format would be changed back, it would be the organizers--SportsAmerica Inc.--and big-money sponsores Nike who would do it. Write them a letter ... I wish I could say I think it would make a difference.
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Fairfax, Va.:
Including the relay teams for swimming was a nice addition to All-Met this year!
Are the swimmers selected the same way every year? I had heard that how kids placed at States or Metros affected the results. This year's team looks to be selected based on fastest times, which makes sense. All the jurisdictions and events were nicely represented as well. washingtonpost.com:
Winter All-Met: Girls' Swimming (Post, April 7)
Winter All-Met: Boys' Swimming (Post, April 7)
Jon DeNunzio: Thanks.
Basically the same criteria. Gotta have fast times and win titles to make it.
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Burke, Va:
Jon,
Multiple questions:
How did get you to the position of editor? Not because you are doing anything bad, just because I'm curious - an aspiring editor. The Post's expanded high school sports coverage is good.
Second: when is the late signing period for high school seniors? are we in it currently?
Jon DeNunzio: Hmmm ... an asipring editor. You want to field questions like the ones above for a living?
I got the job after editing some of our other high school sports copy at The Post -- the Extras. Before that, I covered high schools at a few different places, including The Post and the Potomac News in Woodbridge. I also was a copy editor here and at the Daily Progress in Charlottesville--that experience served me well in getting other editing jobs.
Late signing period starts next week, I think. Check www.ncca.org to be sure.
Thanks for the kind words.
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Washington, D.C.:
Greetings John. Another great job with the All-Met Selections. My question is more of a comment and a request:
Please include RUGBY in your Spring sport selections. RUGBY, like ice hockey, is not recognized by some schools as a varsity sport, but it is by some, as such. It has existed in the D.C. area for 30 years.
There are 24 HIGH SCHOOL BOYS AND GIRLS RUGBY CLUBS in the DC/BALTIMORE AREA.
--Currently, 3 local high school rugby athletes are in Durban, South Africa competing on the USA U-19 squad in the U-19 Rugby World Cup. 1 local rugby coach is on that USA Rugby U-19 Staff.
Please consider adding RUGBY to your list of Spring sports. I can furnish Coaching contact info for ALL 24 TEAMS for the nominating process.
K. Mockenhaupt
D.C. Rugby Football Foundation
Jon DeNunzio: Thanks. We may not bne ready for the All-Met Rugby Team, but you never know ... thanks for the tip!
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Upper Marlboro, Md.:
What league is the number 3 school (riverdale baptist) for girls top 20 basketball school? The girls do not appear on an all league team.
Jon DeNunzio: They are not in a league! Indepedent school, like Notre Dame in college football ... (but they win more)
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Charlottesville, Va:
Why did Good Counsel Center Kaili McLaren only make Honorable Mention All-Met. She clearly belongs on one of the first four teams in the DC area. She is regarded nationally as one of the top girls basketball players for her age. Also, her performance in the tough WCAC conference would merit a selection on one of those first four teams. washingtonpost.com:
Winter All-Met: Basketball (Post, April 7)
Jon DeNunzio: Running low on time ... posting this simply to ackowledge there's an argument to be made for other players.
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Alexandria, Va.:
The 50th best swimmer is probably better than the 50th best basketball player! The majority of swimmers who are successful in high school swimming train 11 months a year (6-8 workouts/week) with club teams. Most high school swim teams have between 30-50 on the team. I really think you should give more thought to upping your numbers for swimming.
Jon DeNunzio: Yes, but ... the best basketball players play pretty much year-round, too.
That said, no one should doubt the amount of work an elite swimmer puts in ...
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Gainesville, Va.:
How did Laurel's stellar senior, John Vaughn, slip to Honorable Mention? Admittedly his team did not perform well, but that only makes his stats more impressive as opponents could (and did) focus defensive pressure on him. Despite this, he still averaged 21.5 points, 5 assists, 5.7 rebounds, and 2 steals a game in PG County, one of the toughest places in the region.
Jon DeNunzio: Again, just posted to let the argument be made ...
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Odenton, Md.:
Seeing how MSJ is one of the top ranked high school hockey teams, why were there no young men from that school honored/honorable mentioned?
Jon DeNunzio: As we mentioned re: Will Thomas ... Mount St. Joe's is not in our coverage area.
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Fairfax, Va.:
Jon:
The selection of Rudy Gay to the All-Met team raises two questions regarding the boys basketball rankings this year:
1. Why was Spalding High School from Baltimore included in the Washington Post rankings? No other schools from Baltimore are allowed to be ranked. Why Spalding?
2. If the Post decided not to rank teams that use fifth-year seniors, why was Montrose Christian allowed to be ranked? Their coach, Stu Vetter, has been using fifth-year seniors since his days at Flint Hill. Why was an exception made for them?
washingtonpost.com:
Boys' Basketball: Player of the Year (Post, March 25)
Jon DeNunzio: The first part has been answered (ad nauseum).
The second part ... Stu says that is not the case, and our reporters have not found reason to doubt him. The charge seems baseless.
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Jon DeNunzio: Well, I'm over time ... thanks for all the great questions!! Sorry for not being able to get to them all. Let's do this again sometime.
Forza Azzurri!
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